DUBLIN — A Dublin police officer is being accused of excessive force against a legally deaf and disabled 76-year-old woman after she allegedly jaywalked, according to a federal lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in the Northern District of the U.S. District Court, alleges that Hui Jie Jin, 76, a grandmother, was violently thrown to the ground, had an officer’s foot or knee on her back and was handcuffed so tightly that she passed out.

Jin was also handcuffed while in the ambulance, when she was still unconscious, and her left wrist was “crushed to the bone,” the lawsuit alleges. Jin alleges that the level of force used was “completely unreasonable under the circumstances,” and begs the question of why a man is beating up a 76-year-old woman.

“Police officers are supposed to help disabled elderly women cross streets — not beat them senseless and to the point of hospitalization,” the lawsuit reads.

Jin, who is completely deaf in one ear and only has 10 percent hearing in her other, was stopped and detained by Officer Phillip Corvello on July 21, 2017, in Dublin on suspicion of jaywalking. Jin, who lives in San Ramon, was on her way out for groceries that morning.

Corvello allegedly began shouting at Jin, but she could not hear or understand him. She said she pointed to her ear with one hand, and waved her other hand back and forth in order to signal that she was deaf, according to the lawsuit.

The officer allegedly continued to yell and eventually pulled out handcuffs and waved them at her. Police body camera footage shows the officer asking her for her identification, and threatening to take her to jail if she failed to produce it, according to the lawsuit.

Dublin Capt. Nate Schmidt said although he can’t comment directly on the case, there is video footage of the whole encounter which he assumes will be used during trial. He said generally, in any type of use unnecessary force allegation, the encounter is reviewed within the department. Corvello’s use of force in this case was found to be within the department’s policy; he was not placed on any kind of leave.

“I can tell you, Deputy Corvello is a great officer, and does great work for us. He is still employed with us,” he said.

Jin alleges she did give the officer her identification, and that he acknowledged receiving it. After this, she also clasped her hands together as if in prayer, and repeatedly bowed deeply “in order to beg Officer Corvello for mercy and not to hurt her.”

It was then that Corvello allegedly twisted her arm and slammed her to the ground, the lawsuit alleges.

In 2010, Alameda County entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to guarantee better communication with those who are deaf, hard of hearing or blind. The agreement stated that they would provide sign language interpreters and other aids for those in Santa Rita and Glenn Dyer jails. According to the Department of Justice, the 2010 policy was a result of a claim filed at the time by a deaf and blind man who was arrested and not provided with an interpreter during his time in jail.

The lawsuit alleges that the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, which contracts with Dublin for police services, failed to adequately train its deputies regarding the rights of deaf people, and that Corvello knew the woman was deaf, but did not effectively communicate with her.

The lawsuit points out that Jin was ultimately not arrested for jaywalking, but for failing to provide identification.

In addition to Corvello, the lawsuit also names Alameda County, the city of Dublin, Sheriff Gregory Ahern and other commanding officers. The Alameda County Counsel’s office did not respond to request for comment.